Building-protector



R.` KIRCHNER. i BUILDING PROTECTOR. APPLICATION FILED DEC. I0, I9I8.1,344,540.

A. IIIIIII, IVIIIVIVTILIIRIIIV.. IIT,...

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Patented June 22, 1920.

UNITED STATES REINHOLD KIRCHNER, OF MOBILE, ALABAMA.

BUILDING-PROTECTOR.

Application filed December 10, 1918.

To @ZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, REINHOLD KIRCHNER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Mobile, inthe county of Mobile and State of Alabama, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Building-Protectors, of whichthe following is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to building protectors, and is in the nature ofa protective closure for the openings in building structures.

The object of the invention is to provide an eective protector for theopenings in buildings when subjected to floods, the protecting devicebeing adapted to close such openings in the buildings to any desiredheight and the structure being capable of being applied to any openingin the building either directly within the opening itself or upon theoutside of the building adjacent to such opening.

Another objectin view is to provide a protector of the characterreferred to which is of sectional construction so that it may be readilyset up and removed as required.

lith the above and other obj ects in view, the invention consists in thenovel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as herein fullydescribed, illustrated and claimed.A

In the accompanying drawings I:

Figure l is an outside elevation of a sufficient portion of a buildingstructure to illustrate the improved protecting device in its appliedrelation thereto,

vF ig. 2 is a horizontal section through the same,

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section through the same,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical cross section showing the means forfilling the floor channel iron when the protecting device is not in use,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section showing another form ofchannel iron applied in another way to the wall of the buildingstructure.

Referring to the drawings, l designates the walls or masonry of abuilding structure. In the preferred embodiment of this invention, andin order to obtain the best practical installation of the protectingdevice, the walls l should be of some such material as concrete in orderto render them waterproof.

In installing the protective device, a chan- Specifcation of LettersPatent.

' placed in Patented June 22, 1920. Serial No. 266,163.

nel iron 2 is sunk flush in the floor 3 of the building, as shown inFig. 3 and vertical channel irons 4 are mounted flush in the side wallsbounding the opening to be closed and protected against iioods. Thevertical channel irons are arranged directly opposite each other, asshown in Fig. 2 sides exposed to receive the edges of the closurehereinafter described, the bottom edge of the closure being -adapted tobe the channel of the first named channel iron 2 in the floor 3. Therepossible it is preferred to arrange the channel irons 2 and 4 as shownin Figs. 2 and 3. Under such arrangement the closure will then be withinthe outside face wall of the building structure, as shown in Fig. 2.lVhere, by the presence of doors or other obstructions it isimpracticable to place the channel iron 4 as shown in Fig. 2, channelirons 4, as shown in Fig. 5, may be provided, such channel irons beingarranged against the outer face of the building walls l and each of saidchannel irons having anchoring means 5 shown as L-shaped in formationand embedded in the walls l. The anchoring means 5 may be either in theform of a continuous flange extending longitudinally of the channelironl4 or lit may consist of several L-shaped projections or armsextending from said channel iron 4. Under the arrangement shown in Fig.5 the floor channel iron will, alinement with the vertical channel iron4 so as toreceive the bottom edge of the closure.

The closure, in the preferred embodiment thereof, consists of a numberof vertical posts 6 having vertically extending grooves 7 in theopposite faces thereof. Detachably connected with said posts arehorizontally extending panels 8 having a tongue and groove joint, at 9,with each other. The panels 8 also have at their ends projecting tenonsor tongues l0 which are detachably fitted in the grooves 7 of the posts6, as shown in Fig. 2. The closure is thus of separable and knockdownconstruction adapting it to be easily assembled and placed in positionand removed therefrom when no longer required.

The closure is set up with relation to the channel irons as illustratedin Figs. 2 and 3, wherein it will be seen that the bottom and side edgesof the closure are received in the channel irons 2 and 4 respectively.

with their channel of course, be arranged in A flexiblesheet 11 offabric such as canvas treated with a waterproofing compound is thenapplied to one face of the closure above described and preferably to theoutside exposed face thereof, as indicated in Fig. 2. The channels inthe channel irons fare wider than the thickness of the closure The uppermarginal portion of the ieX- in ordcr -to enable fastening wedges orwedge-shaped strips 12 to be inserted in said channel irons between theclosure and one of the flanges of the channel iron for the purpose ofbinding the marginal portions of the iexible sheetl 11 in place. Thewcdging lstrips 12 ai'c preferably formed of wood and preferably poplarwhich will expand readily and quickly when subjected to the action ofmoisture or water enabling them to more effectively hold the flexiblesheet in place, thereby preventing water from reaching the closureproper and warping the same.

In applyingthe ieXible sheet 11 to the closure structure a certainamount of slack is left in said iiexible sheet so as to enablel thewedgiiig strips l2 to be driven into place without tearing or injuringsaid sheet. As

'soon as the wooden strips 12 are subjected to the action ofthe watercoming in contact therewith they expand and firmly wedge vthemselves inplace and thereby securely ible sheet 11 may bey placed over the topedge of the closure andV tacked or otherwise fastened thereto. Braces 15may also be placed behind the posts G of the closure to withstand theaction of rushing water when a flood isrising rapidly. `The height ofthe complete 4closure maybe determined by reference to previous floodconditions.

I donot vdesire to belimited to the eXact construction herein shown anddescribed, it being apparent that the invention is susceptible of manychanges in the form, proportion andV minor details of construction whichmay accordingly be resorted to without departing from the principles orsacriicing any of the advantages of the invention. c

I-Iaving thus described the Y invention, what I claim is: Y

1. In a protective Vclosure for building structures, the combination oflchannel irons having a permanent anchored connection with the wallsbounding an openingin such structure7 a closure adapted to have theedges thereof seated .in the channels of said channel irons, a sheet ofwaterproof fabric covering the face of saidclosure, and separablefastening means adapted to be inserted in said channel irons for holdingthe marginal portions of said sheet in place. i'

2. In a protective closure for building structures, the combination ofchannel irons having av permanent anchored connection with the wallsboundingv an opening in such structure7 a closure adapted to have theedges thereof seated in the channels of said channel irons, a sheet ofwaterproof fabric covering the face of said closure7 and fastening meansapplicable tormarginal portions of said sheet and channel irons tofasten said sheet in place7 said closure being composed of spaced postsand panelsof different widths having a tongue and groove jointedconnection with eachother.

Y 3. In a protective closure for building structures, the combination.ofv channel irons having a permanent anchored connection withfthe wallsbounding an opening in such structure, 4a closure adapted to have theedges thereof seated inthe channels ofV said channel irons7 a sheet ofwaterproof fabric covering the faceof said closure, and fastening wedgesexpansible by moisture applicable to marginal portions of said sheet andchannel irons to fasten said sheet in place. Y

In testimony whereof Iaflix my signature.

. REINHOLD KIRCHNER.

